Cancel the Contract Preliminary Research Findings
RDA Data Sense Making Session [INTERNAL USE ONLY]
By Catalyst California
23 July, 2025
Antelope Valley Demographics
The AV has a large youth population that will be worth highlighting in the report. Not sure if it has to be visualized or just in the report text as context.
age_re | total | count | rate |
|---|---|---|---|
17 and under | 408,374 | 112,293 | 27.5 |
18-24 | 408,374 | 37,453 | 9.2 |
25-34 | 408,374 | 55,825 | 13.7 |
35-44 | 408,374 | 53,665 | 13.1 |
45-54 | 408,374 | 48,584 | 11.9 |
55-64 | 408,374 | 50,358 | 12.3 |
65 and older | 408,374 | 50,196 | 12.3 |
Stops of people in Antelope Valley
In 2023 LASD stopped 31,818 people in the AV, which for our project we geographically define as SPA 1. Of all people stopped, 6,974 were stopped for a call for service, or only 22% of all people stopped. Conversely, 24, 844 people were stopped in the AV in a stop that was not a call for service, or 78% of all people stopped.
Stops of people by age
When comparing the stop rates across age ranges, there are very minor differences in stop rates with a call for service and without a call for service. However, the only age range where there is a large difference between CFS and not CFS is for those 17 and under.
Question for CTC: Can we say that stops of people 17 and under are more likely to be call for service stops BECAUSE of the police contract in the school district? This can point to the circular logic of policing - wherever you place police is where you’re going to find “crime.” It doesn’t necessarily mean certain places are more crime-ridden, it just means more police are there. This begs teh question: why was a police contract established in AV schools in the first place?
Stops with call for service in AV: Age 17 and under 8.2%
Stops with no call for service in AV: Age 17 and under 1.6%
Stops of people by race
Black people in the AV are disproportionately stopped relative to their total population. We see that 31.6% of all stops in the AV are of people perceived as Black , while only 14.8% of the AV’s population is Black.This disproportionality is also reflected in stops of students perceived as Black relative to Black student enrollment in AVUHSD schools.
We also see a high rate of Latinx people being stopped in the AV, as they make up 47.4% of all stops in the AV. While 53.6% of AV’s population is Latinx that is still a high burden of stops being experienced by the Latinx community.
Conversely, 24% of the AV’s general population is White yet people perceived as White only make up 18.5% of all AV stops, indicating that there is racial bias in who is being stopped by police in the AV.
AVUHSD general demographics
Enrollment data for AVUHSD is for the 2024-2025 academic year. In AVUHSD there are more Black students than White students. In general though I think it is important to be considerate of race comparisons when we get to data of AVUHSD stops. Regardless of race I think the point is that policing of youth in schools is bad.
cdscode | districtname | reportingcategory_re | total_enr |
|---|---|---|---|
19642460000000 | Antelope Valley Union High | latinx | 14,755 |
19642460000000 | Antelope Valley Union High | nh_black | 3,646 |
19642460000000 | Antelope Valley Union High | nh_white | 1,962 |
19642460000000 | Antelope Valley Union High | nh_twoormor | 934 |
19642460000000 | Antelope Valley Union High | nh_filipino | 276 |
19642460000000 | Antelope Valley Union High | nh_asian | 222 |
19642460000000 | Antelope Valley Union High | missing_race | 85 |
19642460000000 | Antelope Valley Union High | nh_aian | 50 |
19642460000000 | Antelope Valley Union High | nh_nhpi | 28 |
Stops of people in AVUHSD
Law enforcement stopped 904 people in AVUHSD between 2018-2023.
Law enforcement responded to a call for service for 317 of the 904 people stopped, or 35% of all people stopped. In other words, law enforcement chose to stop students in 65% of stops (587 of 904).
Stops of people with disablities
Students with disabilities make up 2.5% of all stops, or a total of 23 students with disabilities were stopped.Their current enrollment rate is 17.8%. This might not be as important to include in our report.
contact_id | person_id | call_for_service | reason_for_contact | reason_for_contact_narrative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
77,746 | 87,409 | false | Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | Witness saw students fighting. |
673,776 | 742,237 | Yes | Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | placed student on 5585 |
165,486 | 182,912 | true | Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | 245a1pc |
280,872 | 308,339 | false | Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | subject was identified by victim as punching him in the face |
777,045 | 857,386 | Yes | Determine if student violated school policy (student) | attempt 902a |
173,499 | 191,482 | true | Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | 242pc |
573,279 | 631,532 | true | Consensual encounter and search | 5585 investigation |
299,226 | 328,981 | true | Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | student being detained by security officers for making verbal threats to shoot students |
145,817 | 161,628 | false | Determine if student violated school policy (student) | STUDENT BEING VIOLENT IN CAFETERIA OF SCHOOL. |
170,761 | 188,567 | false | Determine if student violated school policy (student) | SCHOOL SECURITY DETAINED SUBJECT AND FOUND SUBJECT TO HAVE MARIJUANA ON THEIR PERSON. |
660,179 | 727,197 | Yes | Consensual encounter and search | the patient was making suicidal statements and told me he would kill himself if he left school |
562,082 | 619,406 | true | Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | The student was suicidal and a flight risk. attempted to leave school and runaway. I detained and handcuffed fearing he would commit suicide. |
185,316 | 204,327 | false | Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | subject made reference to school shooting |
193,665 | 213,346 | false | Determine if student violated school policy (student) | Patient began yelling and banging his head against a wall stating he wanted to kill hiself |
153,074 | 169,492 | false | Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | Subject admitted in written school statement he was involved in a fight on school campus |
283,937 | 311,833 | true | Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | The suspect was identified by school officials as being the suspect of a battery and threats against a school employee. |
286,330 | 314,528 | true | Consensual encounter and search | contacted patient regarding a 5150 wic evaluation. |
187,869 | 207,062 | true | Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | The subject was identified by school officials as being involved in an incident where he assaulted to school staff members |
75,391 | 84,828 | false | Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | subject was found possessing knife on school grounds |
125,229 | 139,230 | true | Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | teacher overheard sj talk about being prepared if he went to another school. sj stated what if i brig a weapon and shoot their asses. security det and searched, sj refused comment, tst for house check, parent refused affirmed weapons secure, w/a rele |
99,775 | 111,406 | true | Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | Suspect identified by school staff as being involved in incident where she threatened school officials |
150,174 | 166,370 | false | Knowledge of outstanding arrest warrant/wanted person | Named subject in report. |
1,043,560 | 1,151,223 | Yes | Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | Student was contacted due to assaulting her mother |
Stops by race
Black students are over-policed in AVUHSD. People perceived as Black made up 53.2% of all stops in AVUHSD from 2018-2023 but their enrollment rate in 2024-2025 is only 16.6%. Stated another way, for every 1,000 Black students enrolled in AVUHSD 131.9 Black students are stopped by police.
Students perceived as Latinx made up 38.2% of all stops in AVUHSD, and the current enrollment rate of Latinx students is 67.2%. Latinx students have the second highest rate of stops out of all student groups.
Students perceived as White made up 7.9% of all stops in AVUHSD but their current enrollment rate is 8.9%.
When looking at stops that are calls for service versus stops that are not calls for service, we see that students perceived as Black have a higher count of stops that were not a call for service (n=342) compared to a call for service (139). Out of all people stopped for a stop that was not a call for service in AVUHSD, 58.2% of those people were perceived as Black. In other words, more than half of the people being stopped without a call for service in AVUHSD are perceived as Black. Conversely, only 5.1% of people perceived as White are stopped for a stop that is not a call for service.
Stops by stop reason
Nearly half of stops were for school fights and smoking marijuana, neither of which should require law enforcement.
Whether in response to a call or by officer choice, law enforcement said there was a reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity in roughly 90% of stops of students. The other 10% of stops were because of a consensual encounter and search, to determine if a student violated a school policy, to determine whether a student in truant, an outstanding arrest warrant, a possible Ed Code violation, or traffic violation.
Whether a student violated a school policy or Ed Code should be investigated by school staff NOT law enforcement. That was 4.2% of the stop reasons for people stopped in AVUHSD.
universe | geography | reason_for_contact | stops_reason_count | stops_geo_total | stops_reason_rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
All stops | Antelope Valley Union High School District | Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | 811 | 904 | 89.7123894 |
All stops | Antelope Valley Union High School District | Determine if student violated school policy (student) | 30 | 904 | 3.3185841 |
All stops | Antelope Valley Union High School District | Knowledge of outstanding arrest warrant/wanted person | 26 | 904 | 2.8761062 |
All stops | Antelope Valley Union High School District | Traffic violation | 13 | 904 | 1.4380531 |
All stops | Antelope Valley Union High School District | Consensual encounter and search | 8 | 904 | 0.8849558 |
All stops | Antelope Valley Union High School District | Investigation to determine if person is truant (student) | 8 | 904 | 0.8849558 |
All stops | Antelope Valley Union High School District | Possible conduct warranting discipline under Education Code (student) | 8 | 904 | 0.8849558 |
Stops for Reasonable Suspicion
15% of stops where the officer had a reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity were due to the student matching the a description. Stops where someone matches a description are fraught with error.
reason_for_contact | reasonable_suspicion_reason | total | count | rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | person witness or victim ofsuspect | 811 | 662 | 81.6 |
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | that the person matched description | 811 | 119 | 14.7 |
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | officer witnessed commission crime | 811 | 38 | 4.7 |
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | person carrying suspicious object | 811 | 4 | 0.5 |
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | action indicative violentcrime | 811 | 2 | 0.2 |
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | action indicative drugtransaction | 811 | 1 | 0.1 |
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | action indicative casing victimlocation | 811 | 0 | 0.0 |
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | lookout | 811 | 0 | 0.0 |
Diving deeper into the specific reasonable suspicion stop reasons, law enforcement stopped students for a number unnecessary reasons including disrupting classwork, disruption of school activities, willfully disturbing a school zone, loud noise, litter, jaywalking, bothering other children, possessing unlawful paraphernalia.
However, when you look at the most common reasonable suspicion reason offense codes, we can see that most stops of people for reasonable suspicion in AVUHSD were for posession of marijuana, fighting or some form of battery.
reason_for_contact | offense_code_of_the_reasonable_suspicion | statute_literal_25 | offense_type_of_charge | total | count | rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | 415(1) | FIGHT/ETC IN PUBLIC PLACE; FIGHT IN PUBLIC PLACE | I; M | 811 | 137 | 16.892725 |
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | 11357(D) | POSS MARIJUANA SCHL GRNDS | I | 811 | 111 | 13.686806 |
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | 243.2(A)(1) | BATT ON PRSN:SCH/HOSP/ETC | M | 811 | 98 | 12.083847 |
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | 243.6 | BATT ON SCHOOL EMP W/INJ; BATT SCHOOL EMP W/O INJ | F; M | 811 | 63 | 7.768187 |
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | 242 | BAT EMERGENCY PERSON/ETC; BAT AGAINST PEACE OFFICER; BATTERY ON PERSON; BAT W/SERIOUS BODILY INJ; BATTERY; BAT:SPOUSE/EX SP/DATE/ETC; BATT W/SERIOUS BODILY INJ | F; F; M; M; F; M; F | 811 | 36 | 4.438964 |
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | 626.10(A)(1) | POSS WEAPON AT SCHL K-12; POSS WEAPON AT SCHL K-12 | M; F | 811 | 24 | 2.959309 |
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | 243.2(A) | BAT ON PRSN:SCH/PARK/ETC | M | 811 | 23 | 2.836005 |
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | 422(A) | THRTN CRIME:INT:TERRORIZE; THRTN CRIME:INT:TERRORIZE | M; F | 811 | 23 | 2.836005 |
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | 415.5(A)(1) | FIGHT/ETC AT SCH/UNIV/ETC | M | 811 | 21 | 2.589396 |
Very different not school with traffic violation being number one.
Outside of AVUHSD and looking at the reason why people are stopped in the AV, the most common stop reason for anyone above the age of 17 is traffic violations. This is consistent with police stop behavior in LA county and other jurisdictions.
Stops by stop result
geography | stop_result | total | count | rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Antelope Valley Union High School District | in field cite and release | 904 | 620 | 68.6 |
Antelope Valley Union High School District | contacted legal guardian | 904 | 304 | 33.6 |
Antelope Valley Union High School District | referral to school administrator | 904 | 234 | 25.9 |
Antelope Valley Union High School District | custodial arrest without warrant | 904 | 146 | 16.2 |
Antelope Valley Union High School District | psychiatric hold | 904 | 29 | 3.2 |
Antelope Valley Union High School District | warning | 904 | 26 | 2.9 |
Antelope Valley Union High School District | custodial arrest warrant | 904 | 15 | 1.7 |
Antelope Valley Union High School District | no action | 904 | 14 | 1.5 |
Antelope Valley Union High School District | referral school staff | 904 | 10 | 1.1 |
Antelope Valley Union High School District | citation for infraction | 904 | 9 | 1.0 |
Antelope Valley Union High School District | noncriminal caretaking transport | 904 | 9 | 1.0 |
Antelope Valley Union High School District | field interview card completed | 904 | 3 | 0.3 |
In field cite and release stop results
offense code | count | statute_literal_25 |
|---|---|---|
284 | ||
415(1) | 143 | FIGHT/ETC IN PUBLIC PLACE; FIGHT IN PUBLIC PLACE |
11357(D) | 114 | POSS MARIJUANA SCHL GRNDS |
243.2(A)(1) | 99 | BATT ON PRSN:SCH/HOSP/ETC |
243.6 | 40 | BATT ON SCHOOL EMP W/INJ; BATT ON SCHOOL EMPLOYEE; BATT SCHOOL EMP W/O INJ |
242 | 27 | BAT EMERGENCY PERSON/ETC; BAT AGAINST PEACE OFFICER; BATTERY ON PERSON; BAT W/SERIOUS BODILY INJ; BATTERY; BAT:SPOUSE/EX SP/DATE/ETC; BATT W/SERIOUS BODILY INJ; BATTERY |
243.2(A) | 19 | BAT ON PRSN:SCH/PARK/ETC |
415.5(A)(1) | 17 | FIGHT/ETC AT SCH/UNIV/ETC |
626.10(A)(1) | 12 | POSS WEAPON AT SCHL K-12; POSS WEAPON AT SCHL K-12; POSS WEAPON AT SCHOOL; POSS WEAPON AT SCHOOL |
32210 | 11 | WILFULY DISTURB SCH ZONE |
484(A) | 11 | THEFT PERSONAL PROPERTY; PETTY THEFT; GRAND THEFT; THEFT OF PERSONAL PROP; THEFT OF PROP AFTER PRIOR; PETTY THEFT:$50-; THEFT; THEFT |
148.4(A)(2) | 9 | SEND/ETC FALSE FIRE ALARM |
71 | 8 | THREATN SCH/PUB OFCR/EMPL; THREATN SCH/PUB OFCR/EMPL |